Issue 137
January 2016
Why losing to Holly Holm could be the best thing for ‘Rowdy’
Nick Peet
The Fighters Only editor on how adversity has a habit of unlocking a sporting legacy
Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes once said: “If you’re undefeated, then you’re not fighting the right people.” Mixed martial arts is not boxing. There are a handful of ways to lose a fight in the ring, but in MMA the chances of leaving the cage with an ‘L’ on your record are trebled.
Only now will we see the true measure of Ronda Rousey’s abilities and how she is destined to be remembered when she ends her career. All the greats have suffered falls from grace. Georges St Pierre, Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture all had losses on their records, but they didn’t allow their defeats to define them.
Boxing’s storied heavyweight division holds similar generational icons. Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis and even current kingpin Wladimir Klitschko tasted humble pie to end world championship reigns. In most cases, their desire to not allow defeat to define them legitimized their standing amongst their peers.
It’s how a champion bounces back from a heavy loss that truly defines careers, especially in fight sports. “How you respond to defeat is even more important than how you respond to victory,” Lewis commented in the aftermath of Rousey’s second-round KO loss to Holly Holm. “I found myself in the same place as Ronda Rousey and I used it to regain focus and motivation. She must learn from it and improve her game plan.”
Rousey now finds herself standing on the edge of a cliff. Swift revenge offers her a shortcut back to the top. But that road is fraught with danger. Losing to Oliver McCall and later Hasim Rahman proved to be turning points for Lewis. While Klitschko’s KO losses to Ross Purity, Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster were ultimately reality checks. All of these underdogs peaked at these moments – their own careers defined by one punch or one night of fortune.
But the stars didn’t need to align or lightening strike for Holly Holm to outgun Rousey in Melbourne. She systematically picked apart the holes in her opponent’s game before ruthlessly exposing her with a head kick heard around the world. And it’s losses like this that offer far more of a psychological challenge.
Just ask boxing’s former undisputed pound-for-pound king, Roy Jones Jr. He held every belt the light heavyweight class had to offer and would regularly play basketball matches on the morning of a title fight just to keep things interesting. His time at the top was ended in similarly devastating fashion. After 50 fights marred by just a sole DQ defeat, he was knocked out cold by Antonio Tarver in May 2004, also in the second round.
The KO pulled the rug from under what remains until that point, one of boxing’s most incredible careers. After being stopped again by championship journeyman Glen Johnson, then outpointed in a third fight with Tarver, Jones Jr then went 5-4 in his next nine fights. Since, he’s been left to embark on a bizarre global tour against hand-picked opponents. Tarver robbed him of his super powers, and he never recovered.
Rather like Tarver, it’s clear that Holm is no flash-in-the-pan champion. But that doesn’t mean Rousey’s run at the top is over either, far from it. Randy Couture suffered 11 career losses throughout his illustrious career – yet still managed three runs as heavyweight and two as light heavyweight champion in the UFC. His rivalry with Chuck Liddell helped define the UFC’s first golden age.
Ronda Rousey is no longer MMA’s pound-for-pound queen. She’s no longer the undisputed 135lb champion or the unbeaten and unbeatable UFC phenom. But she’s still the same talent and athlete she was before she ran into Holm. Of course she’s hurting right now and likely humbled and embarrassed too. But the greatest challenge of her sporting life is now in front of her – and the way in which she responds both in and out of the Octagon will define her legacy.
Shut down
Rousey failed to score a single takedown against Holm at UFC 193.
